Louis Vuitton has reopened their ready-to-wear atelier at their headquarters in Paris to make something that is the need of the hour: hospital gowns.

The luxury brand is making the gowns for frontline workers at six hospitals in Paris, where COVID-19 patients are admitted.

Twenty volunteers are stitching the gowns with approved fabrics and patterns. In addition to the volunteers, Louis Vuitton pattern cutters are working from home.

Since 1854, Louis Vuitton has made luxury items. But perhaps the gown will be the most valuable product from the brand ever.

Alcohol surge in isolation

During the coronavirus crisis, an overwhelming number of people have taken to drinking alone, says a report from the US.

According to a report in www.vox.com, people are turning to alcohol in the loneliness of their homes, irrespective of time. The report, titled ‘This is how America drinks now’, and written by Rebecca Jennings, starts with a mention of beloved septuagenarian food icon Ina Garten recommending a Vodka cocktail early in the morning in “these stressful times”.

“Perhaps it’s the closure of bars and restaurants, or maybe it’s escapism, if not pure boredom. Whatever the reason, the coronavirus pandemic has lessened the stigma of drinking alone, and of drinking, period,” the report says.

Americans are buying more alcohol. The report mentions data from BACtrack, a brand of portable breathalyzers, which claim that people in San Francisco drank more, and earlier in the week, after the city’s shelter-in-place order. The report also mentions a study of 3,000 workers by Alcohol.org that claimed that one in three people said they’re more likely to drink in isolation.